Governor's July Message

Our District rests on the solid foundation of many years of exceptional leadership and the efforts of countless Rotarians who take action everyday to improve lives in our communities and abroad.

We are exceedingly fortunate this year to serve under the leadership of Rotary International President, Bill Boyd, who is truly a servant leader, wise, modest and gracious. He is a gifted thinker and a man who will inspire by his words and his deeds. He has asked us to Lead the Way and to direct our efforts to providing clean water, alleviating hunger and improving health, promoting literacy and embracing the family of Rotary.

I ask each of you to Proclaim Rotary at every opportunity. Rotarians must find ways to bring Rotary's message of hope and inspiration to the uninitiated - through the press, through our own publications, and through effective public speaking to groups outside the Rotary world. This is the first step toward ensuring that Rotary will grow and thrive in the 21st century.

I also ask that you Look Beyond Our Borders to do the good work of Rotary. Most people join Rotary because they wish to help their communities. We must, however, also reveal the essential and gratifying work of International Service. The future of worldwide peace, understanding and goodwill is at stake. We must also teach that millions outside our community have critical needs which are not being met. Rotary has the plan, the experience and the personnel to meet those needs.

We must see to it that we Create Character in our members and in the broader family of Rotary. Character is critical to our success as a service organization. It is what must distinguish us from all others - in our businesses, in our personal lives and in our service. We are not saints, of course. We have shortcomings; we have failings. But we can, and we must, aspire to be honest, fair, respectful and humble men and women. We must commit to the 4-Way Test.

In all that we do, we must Teach Our Children - by our words and by our deeds. Our children are the family, and the future, of Rotary. They are our sons, our daughters, our grandchildren, our nephews and nieces, and they are the members of our Rotaract, Interact and Youthact clubs. Let this be the year when we include them in all our Rotary endeavors.

We must Build Continuity. Rotary is a cooperative venture which works best when we learn from those who precede us and guide those who follow. We should always hope that our successors achieve more than we - and do it by using and improving our model. Our duty is to lay the foundation for ever more effective service, and to ensure that this service is energetic and uninterrupted. To this end we will devote our creative genius and our skill at organization. Our product will be more families who enjoy clean water, more men, women and children who are spared the ravages of disease, more infants who are well fed and nurtured and more students who have the gift of literacy.

Make Membership Matter. We achieve in Rotary through the creativity, the generosity and the diligent work of our members. To enhance our appeal to these individuals, we must make our clubs the attractive, interesting and useful organizations we know they can be. We must ask. Are we providing a joyous experience for our members? Do we embrace and support them? Do we acknowledge their accomplishments? Do we comfort them in times of sorrow? Are we making our communities better? Are we teaching ethics? Are we creating leaders among our youth? Are we looking beyond our borders to serve? Do we openly, and proudly Proclaim Rotary. If we ensure that we can answer all these affirmatively, we can then effectively invite others to join us.

Warmest regards,

Scot